Message from District 7: Second Semester Information

/in , , , , , , /by

District 7 Families,

Please read this entire communication and complete your second semester instructional environment selection by clicking on the link at the end of this communication.

We appreciate the input from all stakeholders as we have worked to transition back to school during the first quarter of the 2020-2021 school year.  So far adapting to school in the pandemic environment has been a steep learning curve for our students, parents, and staff.

Our goal is to provide as much continuity as possible for both students and staff during this unprecedented time; therefore, All District 7 schools will remain in the current schedule for the remainder of the second quarter.  At the middle and high school levels, this means that students will continue with the current A/B hybrid schedule. Elementary schools will continue to provide five days per week of in-person instruction.

District 7 is committed to safely increasing in-person learning for all students. For the second semester, families will continue to have the option to select 100% remote learning. In order to increase in-person learning for students under the proposed Second Semester Transition Plan, health metrics must be reached and maintained. The schedules below are subject to change based upon the prevalence of COVID-19 within our communities.  The District will continue to consult with the Madison County Health Department in the coming months to review current data and statistics.  If at any point, the Madison County Health Department determines it is unsafe to continue in-person instruction, more restrictive scheduling options would be put in place.

District 7 has outlined a second semester transition plan listed below based upon the information currently available.  Please click here to view the entire Second Semester Transition Plan.

In order to increase in-person instruction time, beginning next semester, students in grades 6-12 will increase their days of attendance. All grade levels will continue to operate in the second semester on the same daily time schedule (EHS: 7:20-11:50, Middle Schools: 8:00-12:40, Elementary: 9:15-2:30).

Elementary (Pre-K through 5th grade) 

There is no change for Pre-K through 5th grade students as they will continue to receive in-person instruction five days a week during the second semester.

Middle School (6th-8th grade)

Beginning on Monday, January 4th, the first two weeks of the second semester at the middle school level will be on a hybrid, rotating (A/B) schedule.  Please note as of January 4, 2021, Fridays in the hybrid schedule will be in-person learning days with an alternating schedule instead of remote days. This means in-person instruction is as follows:

Monday, January 4th “A” Day Monday, January 11th “B” Day
Tuesday, January 5th “B” Day Tuesday, January 12th “A” Day
Wednesday, January 6th “A” Day Wednesday, January 13th “B” Day
Thursday, January 7th “B” Day Thursday, January 14th “A” Day
Friday, January 8th “A” Day Friday, January 15th “B” Day

Any return to hybrid during the second semester would follow this alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning.

Beginning on Tuesday, January 19th, middle school students will begin attending in-person daily.  The start date of January 19 would be pushed back based on adverse health metrics, specifically, if District 7 middle schools were to have multiple outbreaks of COVID cases between now and the end of the first semester or within the first two weeks of the second semester.

District 7 will continue to notify parents anytime there is a COVID positive student or staff member. At the middle school level, the majority of students stay in the same classroom with the teachers traveling from room to room.  When students return to daily in-person instruction, students will continue to be socially distanced to the greatest extent possible. Efforts will be made to keep class sizes as low as enrollment allows, however, there may be classes that contain up to 32 students making it not feasible to keep students spaced 6 feet apart.  All other mitigation protocols will remain in place.

High School (9th-12th grade) 

Beginning on Monday, January 4th, the first two weeks of the second semester at the high school level will continue on a hybrid, rotating (A/B) schedule. Please note as of January 4, 2021, Fridays in the hybrid schedule will be in-person learning days with an alternating schedule instead of remote days. This means in-person instruction is as follows:

Monday, January 4th “A” Day Monday, January 11th “B” Day
Tuesday, January 5th “B” Day Tuesday, January 12th “A” Day
Wednesday, January 6th “A” Day Wednesday, January 13th “B” Day
Thursday, January 7th “B” Day Thursday, January 14th “A” Day
Friday, January 8th “A” Day Friday, January 15th “B” Day

Any return to hybrid schedule during the second semester would follow this alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning.

Beginning on Tuesday, January 19th, all Edwardsville High School students will begin attending in-person daily.  However, the District will consult with the Madison County Health Department at the beginning of January to review current data and statistics.  If the Madison County Health Department determines it is unsafe to return to five days/week of in-person instruction at EHS, the District will notify all families. In addition, the start date of January 19 would also be pushed back based on the following:

  • If EHS was to have multiple outbreaks of COVID cases between now and the end of the first semester or within the first two weeks of the second semester.
  • If Madison County was under any State Resurgence Mitigation Policies that limits gatherings to less than 25 people.

If EHS is unable to return to five days/week of in-person instruction due to any of the conditions above, the students would remain on alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning. The District would continue to monitor the metrics with the Madison County Health Department and notify all high school families when 5 days/week of in-person instruction would begin at EHS.

The need for stricter metrics for all students to attend in-person daily at Edwardsville High School are due to the size and environment of the school.  At EHS, students will continue to move from room-to-room for the 6 periods.  When students return to daily in-person instruction, students will continue to be socially distanced to the greatest extent possible. Efforts will be made to keep class sizes as low as enrollment allows; however, there may be classes that contain up to 34 students making it not feasible to keep students spaced 6 feet apart.  All other mitigation protocols will remain in place.

Once all students are attending school daily, any change to a hybrid or a fully remote schedule will follow the guidelines outlined in the District’s Second Semester Transition Plan.  Any schedule revision from fully in-person to hybrid or remote settings will be communicated to all affected families from the District and building level through email, text, and recorded phone message.

 

Second Semester Instructional Environment Selection

All District 7 families must complete a second semester instructional environment selection below to determine either 100% remote or in-person learning for their students by Wednesday, November 4, 2020.  Please carefully review the information outlined within the second semester transition plan document (found at the attached link below) as you make your final decision.  In order to provide the necessary staffing levels for remote and in-person classes, implement student schedule changes, and provide additional professional development for staff based upon the results of the instructional environment selection for the second semester, the District will not be able to accommodate changes to parent decisions after Wednesday, November 4, 2020.  When completing the instructional environment selection process, you are committing to your decision for the entire second semester of the 2020-2021 school year.

As the District plans for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, please be aware that students transitioning from 100% remote to in-person learning could be required to attend a different building for the second semester depending upon in-person learning class sizes. We hope to avoid this wherever possible, but the District is bound by class size limitations. Another potential outcome of class size limitations is the possibility that some students could have a different teacher for the second semester.

It is our objective to keep the amount of transition and change for all students to a minimum for the second semester.  However, we want to make sure that families understand that some change is possible based on parents’ second semester instructional environment selection.

All District 7 families must select a second semester instructional environment for their student(s) by clicking here

We appreciate your continued support as we work to provide a quality education for all District 7 students.

Respectfully,

Dr. Jason Henderson

Superintendent

Edwardsville CUSD7

Parent Teacher Conferences

/in , , , , , /by

The District will again use Pick-A-Time to schedule PreK-12 parent-teacher conferences to be held from October 28-30. Like prior years, Pick-A-Time will allow parents to schedule all of their children’s parent teacher conferences through the internet using the account from last year or by creating a new account.

Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. on October 20, 2020, and will end at 10:00 p.m. on October 27,  2020.

Click the link for additional information:

http://ecusd7.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2020/10/PTConference_Scheduling_Info_2020.pdf

Message from District 7: 10-16-2020

/in , , , , , , /by

District 7 Families,

Below are a couple of quick updates as we mark the end of the 1st quarter of the 2020-2021 school year:

Parent/Teacher Conferences 

On Monday at 3 PM, all District 7 families will receive an email from this email address regarding parent teacher conferences that will take place on October 28-30. All parent teacher conferences will be held virtually this school year and parents will be able to register for a time beginning next Tuesday.   Registration for parent teacher conferences will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20 and will end at 10:00 p.m. on October 27.  All information on how to register for conferences via Pick-a-Time will be included in Monday’s email.  

Survey Results 

Thank you to all 6th through 12th grade students and parents that completed surveys within the last week.  Anyone interested in seeing the survey results can view them on the District 7 webpage by clicking the following link:  http://ecusd7.org/district-reopening/

Once on this page, click on the tab labeled “surveys” to view the results.

Message from District 7: 10-09-2020

/in , , , , , /by

District 7 families,

At today’s teachers’ institute, District 7 staff members were able to receive a mix of in-person and virtual instruction–very much like many of our students. All certified staff members took part in a virtual workshop entitled “Creating an Inclusive School Community” that focused on introducing the foundational knowledge and skills to meet the needs of a multicultural school community. Time was made for teachers to meet with grade levels and departments to discuss curriculum, technology, and how to continue to best meet the needs of District 7 students. Finally, staff took part in a workshop entitled “Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care” in an effort to provide support for our staff. I hope that all families realize the effort that District 7 staff continue to put forth in these extraordinary times.

Survey for Parents of Middle and High School Students

Parents of in-person middle and high school students will receive a survey today from their student’s principal. Parents of remote middle and high school students will receive a survey today as part of a communication from Dr. Cornelia Smith. Please take the time to fill out these short surveys by 12:00 PM on Tuesday, October 13th as they will help District 7 plan for the second semester.

USDA Free Lunch Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended meal flexibilities for school districts through December 31, 2020. These flexibilities will allow District 7 schools to serve no cost meals to ALL students. This unprecedented move will help ensure that regardless of the circumstances, children will have access to nutritious food as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. These flexibilities will also make certain meals reach all children – whether they are learning in the classroom or remotely – so students are fed and ready to learn during this new and ever-changing learning environment.

The opportunity for every student in District 7 to receive free meals began on Monday, October 5, 2020. This program will continue through December 31, 2020, or until funding of the USDA program is depleted. Please encourage your students to take advantage of the opportunity to get free breakfasts and lunches!
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the USDA Free Lunch Program, please contact Breanna Gordon, Food Service Coordinator at bgordon@ecusd7.org.
Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Dr. Jason Henderson

Message from District 7: 10-2-2020

/in , , , , , /by

District 7 Families:

One of the District’s highest priorities has been and continues to be creating a safe and healthy learning environment for both students and employees that supports the delivery of quality instruction at all levels. The District’s commitment to this priority has been even more focused over the past seven months as a result of the pandemic that has impacted the world, our country, our state and our own District 7 communities.

On July 30, 2020, a communication was sent out to all parents that explained three different scheduling models for the 2020-2021 school year. Those models included a traditional (5 days a week) learning model, a hybrid learning model, and a remote learning model. On that date, we stated that Pre-K through fifth grade students would start the school year in the traditional learning model and that grades 6 through 12 would be in the hybrid learning model for at least the first semester.

This communication confirms that District 7 will continue the traditional learning model for grades Pre-K through five and the hybrid learning model for grades 6 through 12 for the remainder of the first semester. This should provide clarity for families and eliminate the uncertainty regarding the schedule for the remainder of the first semester.

In our current situation, the hybrid learning model remains the safest option for our middle and high school students and offers a combination of live and remote instruction. The middle schools and high school have been able to conduct mitigation strategies which have allowed the District to keep our students and staff safe while providing in-person instruction for the first seven weeks of school. Through the hybrid learning model at the middle and high school levels, we have been effectively able to keep the number of staff and students quarantined to a minimum.

During the week of October 19th, District 7 will send out information to families regarding scheduling plans for all grade levels for second semester. We will allow parents the opportunity to determine what is best for their student from the available options presented.  Responses will be due to the District by the end of October. This timeline will allow the District to adequately staff for both remote and in-person classrooms for the second semester.

Keep in mind that at any time during the 2020-2021 school year, District 7 could be forced to suspend in-person instruction and move to a 100% remote setting under the following conditions:

  • The community as a whole is under a stay-at-home order from the Governor or another local or state agency.
  • The District does not have enough staff members (due to quarantine) to safely operate.
  • There are outbreaks within at least three District 7 schools.  An outbreak is defined by the Madison County Health Department as “two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases who are epidemiologically linked to the outbreak setting, have onsets of illness within a 14-day period, do not share a household, and are not listed as a close contact of each other outside of the outbreak setting.”  Individual classrooms and schools will have in-school instruction suspended prior to the entire District moving to a remote setting.  Click here for more details regarding this metric.

Student Mental Health Concerns

District 7 is continually improving programs and services to address the social/emotional needs of all students. We recently added additional mental health professionals for the 2020-2021 school year to better meet the social/emotional needs of our students. District 7 staff is available to help students through difficulties that they may be facing. This is true whether students are in an in-person, hybrid, or remote learning setting. If you would like your child to speak with a District 7 counselor, social worker, or school psychologist, please contact your child’s building principal who can help start this process.

Hybrid/Remote Learning 

District 7 understands the challenges with hybrid instruction for students, families and staff members. As students and staff members are becoming more comfortable with the schedule and the technology, we will continue to see improvements. Teachers and administrators are committed to continuing to learn new methods and instructional technology platforms to provide instruction to all students. While we recognize this is not the ideal format that any educator, parent, or student would desire in normal circumstances, we feel this is currently the best way to provide a safe learning environment for our middle and high school students.

In addition, District 7 will continue to evaluate different models of hybrid scheduling that allow students to stay socially distanced while receiving the maximum amount of in-person instruction. Any changes to the hybrid schedule would be communicated to parents at least two weeks before implementation.

Next week, District 7 will survey families and students to get additional feedback about the first quarter of the school year regarding topics such as scheduling, the hybrid learning model, and remote learning. This data will be used as part of the decision-making process as we plan for the second semester.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Respectfully,

Dr. Jason Henderson